1 Betrayal And Transmigration

"Brother! Wake up! It's time for school~!"

(She is yelling again?)

"Zzzzzz—" 

"Wake up!"

(Argh, shut up.)

"Zzzzzz—"

Knock! Knock!

"Wake up!"

(...)

"Zzzzzz—"

"He isn't waking up like this…"

(What is she going to do now?)

Click!

(She opened the door… okay…)

"You are still in front of the books?"

(Yeah, and that's why I want to sleep, so leave me alone!)

"Anyway, brother~"

(What the hell's up with her tone?)

"Would you be kind enough to wake up~?"

(I've got an ominous feeling about it…)

"Or else…"

(Shit…!)

Jerking his body suddenly, the boy grabbed the incoming hand of his sister clumsily. 

"Woah there. Calm down, will you?"

"Ah, I knew you were awake!"

Messy black hair, his scary eyes squinted and glaring behind his specs, dark bags under his eyes showing clear evidence that he didn't get a wink of sleep last night, and opened books lying on the table. This was enough for anyone to grasp the situation.

"Of course I was. Who wouldn't wake up when a certain someone keeps yelling at the top of their lungs?"

"Anyway, please get ready and come have breakfast. And be quick, or else you are going to be late."

The girl swept her long hair behind her ears elegantly and turned around to leave. 

"Ah."

The girl stopped just before she left the room and turned around to face the boy again.

"Good morning."

"Pfft!"

"H-Hey! What's up with that laugh?!"

"Haha, nothing. Good morning, Selina."

"Hmph!"

(Despite looking so mature, how can she act so tsundere-ish? And wait, did she ever greet me in the morning?)

"Haa… well, time to get ready."

***

"Good morning, mom, dad."

"Good morning Sou." The boy's mother greeted her son leisurely while sipping a cup of coffee.

"Morning, son!" And his father greeted him energetically while turning a page of the newspaper in his hands.

"Brudher, gud moaning!" A cute shout came running down from upstairs and jumped into Sou's embrace.

"Wha- ahem, yeah, good morning, Cecil."

"Ehehe~"

She dug her face in Sou's chest and chuckled cutely enough to fade everyone's sleep and fill them with heartwarming energy.

"Ah~ Sou, is Karen coming today?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Haha, we have to prepare something special for her then!"

Sou's father put down his newspaper and sipped a bit of coffee leisurely. 

Sou stared down at his father. The intimidating figure of his father and his charismatic nature never failed to amaze Sou. It was something he wanted to imitate, but never could. He looked up to his father.

"Yes, we are going to prepare something very well today~"

The reassuring tone of his mother made Sou's lips turn into a gentle smile. 

(What a great morning…)

"Oh, did you do the thing I asked you to, dear?"

"Yes, all done and complete!"

"Good, now we can have a good talk with Karen."

(What are they talking about? Well, not that it matters to me.)

"Then, I am leaving."

Sou quickly layered the jam over the bread and thrust it into his mouth and ran out of the door.

***

Chirp chirp…

The birds' chirps dropped into Sou's ear canals like sweet melodies as he walked down the street to his school. 

"Good morning, Sou."

"Ah, good morning Mrs Tiffany."

"Good morning, boy!"

"Good morning, uncle."

(There are unusually a lot of them out today.)

The mornings were usually desolate as people avoided coming out in the morning, but today was a bit different. People were greeting him and he could see quite a lot of people on walks and strolls.

(Today might really be a great day…)

He walked on.

***

"Sou~!"

A feminine and cutesy voice rang out behind Sou as he was about to cross his school gates.

"Hm?"

He turned around.

Bump!

A girl with rather moderate breasts jumped into Sou's arms.

"Hey, good morning Karen."

"Hehe, good morning Sou."

Karen, Sou's girlfriend, or if you may, his lover, as both of their parents, gave them their consents. 

"As beautiful as ever."

"Oh stop with the flattery. You are gonna make me blush."

"It's the truth, really."

"Heh."

They flirted and talked about some other things as they treaded past the school entrance and entered the school.

"Those two are at it again?"

"Tch, go and flirt in hell."

"Why are we the only virgins?!"

"What? Sou is not a virgin anymore?"

Suddenly, multiple heated gazes drilled Sou's back. Of course, Sou noticed all of their talks but decided to not bother himself by shutting them up. It was too much of a work for him. And, well, he couldn't blame them. They, too, were humans and envy was something that was engraved inside human blood from birth. 

"Why don't you shut them up?" Karen grumbled as she put her hands to cover her body from the boys' leers.

"Well, there is nothing for me to gain from shutting them up."

"What?! You can stop them from talking behind our backs! Wait, don't tell me… do you find this as something natural too?"

Her face was clearly saying 'are you mad?'.

"... So what?"

Sou wore a glum face and creaked his face to avoid Karen's gaze.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!"

"H-Hey, don't laug- Mmf!"

Before Sou finish his sentence, a pair of plump pink lips were pressed against his.

"..."

Karen kissed Sou.

"... Hah…"

She quietly withdrew her lips from Sou's and grinned brilliantly.

"That's what I love about you. Ehehe."

She trotted away to her class, leaving Sou dumbfounded.

"Kyaah~! Did you see that?!"

"Yeah! So bold!"

Naturally, the other students also witnessed this.

"... What just happened?"

He walked off to his class like his soul had been sucked out.

***

"Wow… today was quite intense."

First, the greeting from Selina. Then, the unusually great morning. And then, the sudden kiss from Karen. A lot happened today to Sou.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Sou caught sight of two people in suits, a man and the other a woman, walking towards an abandoned factory where a group with suits were waiting. Normally, one would avoid getting involved with them, but Sou could not do that. Why? He knew them. These two people, he knew them. Because they were his parents. 

(What are they doing here? And why are going to those people?)

Sou was full of questions.

(Better not follow them...)

"What will you do if he finds out?"

His father's voice flowed in and with that, his feet stopped and ears pricked up.

"Who? Sou? Don't worry about him. He is not even our son."

And thus, he decided to follow them.

***

Ding dong!

"Coming~"

Click!

"Ah, brother! Welcome back!"

"... Yeah. I am back."

"... You ok?"

"Yeah… just, just a little tired."

Selina was a little worried. The look on Sou's face, she had never seen him like this.

"Brother…"

"Um, Selina, don't prepare dinner for me. I am not feeling quite well, so I am going to sleep."

"... Yes."

She could not refute his words even if she wanted to. His eyes were frighteningly dead.

***

Click!

Locking the door from the inside, Sou leaned against the door.

"Haa…"

(What did I just see? Were they really my parents?)

Murder... a dreadful thing to do... or so his parents told him. 

But what Sou just saw was something totally different and unexpected. 

(Did they really...)

He still couldn't believe what he saw. The loud ringing of the bullet passing through the man's head and the finger on the gun on the other end... it was all too vivid for a dream. 

"Haa… Haa…"

(My mother would never do such a thing...)

But what he saw with his own two eyes left him with no choice but to believe. And more than that...

'He is not even our son.'

With deep breaths, Sou collected his thoughts. 

"I have to talk with them…"

He decided.

Tring tring! Tring tring!

Just when he thought of talking with his parents, his phone rang.

[Mom]

It was raining outside.

***

"Sou."

"Ah, mom! Dad!"

Sou ran to his parents with an umbrella in his hand.

Tk tk tk!

The desolate park was wet from the raindrops and the trickling of water never stopped.

Sou tried his best to maintain his composure in front of his mother's leisurely smile. Now that he knew the truth, he was having cold sweat on his back.

"Hello, Sou."

It was Karen's voice.

(Karen? Why is she here…?)

Suddenly Sou had an ominous feeling. Karen being here with his parents, the glum expression of his dad, the way his mom fiddled with her fingers- all of this made Sou uncomfortable to his guts.

(There is no way… right?)

Unable to endure the uneasiness he was feeling, Sou decided to be more direct.

"Mom, Dad, I have something to talk to you about." 

"Ah, yes, we know. That's why we called you here."

"... What?"

(Then…)

This could mean one thing only. They knew.

"I am sorry but we have to do this. For the sake of us and you too."

"W-What are you t-talking about…?"

Sou glanced at his dad. He was holding a dagger.

"W-W-What are doin- uack!"

Sou tried to run but he tripped and fell.

Terrified, he tried to get back up, but…

Squish!

The sound of flesh tearing apart rang out loudly in Sou's ears.

"A-AHHH!!"

A dagger dug deep in Sou's legs, his dad by the side.

"Since you saw, and knowing you, that thing is not going to stay in your stomach, so we have no choice but to rip the roots." His mother spoke as she took out a cigarette and lit it up.

"W… Wha…?"

Sou was whimpering and stuttering due to the unbearable pain.

Squish!

His dad pulled the dagger from his leg with brute force.

"ARGH!!!!!!!"

He screamed and screamed but the scream was in vain.

"I am sorry, son."

Squish!

This time, it was Sou's guts.

Squish!

He pulled it back and offered it to Karen who was looking at the dagger stoically.

"Kar…"

Sou could not speak but still tried his best to mutter.

"Don…"

She took it and walked towards Sou.

She held it up high above Sou's guts.

Squish!

She stabbed it.

"ARGH!"

"I am sorry."

Swish! Squish!

She stabbed it two more times.

(I am sorry? Then, why the hell are you smiling?!)

At that moment, realization struck Sou.

'Good, now we can have a good talk with Karen.'

(... They are together.)

Then, his mom took the weapon. And like others, she also stabbed him.

"Urk!"

"Oh, don't worry dear. We told your sisters that you left the family, so don't worry about them. After all, you are useless, and what benefit we will get by keeping you?"

No words came out of his mouth at his mom's mocking. He was broken, despaired, and cold. Never in his life, he imagined seeing this truth. Maybe he always knew the truth, but never accepted it, but now there is no other choice but to accept it- "Humans are cruel."

The dagger stood tall in graved in his guts.

As he lay blood-drenched, he started to laugh nastily.

"Eheheheh.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I work my ass off for the sake of you all fuckers! And what do I get in return? A fuckin' betrayal?! Fine, I am sick of playing the good guy. You all fuckers don't want me as a good guy? Then I will become worse than the devil!"

"He is done for. Dear, let's go. I don't want any of us to touch that thing."

"Yes uncle, let's go."

And with this, they left the scene.

(I should have stayed silent, I shouldn't have been there about that, I should have just let things go with the flow...)

Regret filled him as his vision became blurrier and his conscious began to die.

Why? Why? Just why did he have to face such a betrayal? Just because he supported justice a little too strongly? Or was it because of his kindness that had to take several envied glances?

"Fuck..."

The light of his eyes went out.

His eyelids fell.

His body went cold.

His heartbeat stopped.

He died.

.

.

.

Tring!

{The transmigration of "Destroyer", successful.}

***やし意